Regarding maps and numbers.

[Guppy35]

With the preface that I haven't flown in a long time and this is purely a reaction to sone of the comments on the boards.

Would there be a way to have maps put in place specific to arena numbers? 

Seems like compressing the size of the map when numbers reach a certain lower level would force the fight.  It wouldn't stop anyone from doing what they enjoy in game beyond rolling undefended areas.

Numbers go up to a certain level and the map changes to a size more conducive to those numbers.

It might help the non prime time players find more action.

[Vraciu]

With the preface that I haven't flown in a long time and this is purely a reaction to sone of the comments on the boards.

Would there be a way to have maps put in place specific to arena numbers? 

Seems like compressing the size of the map when numbers reach a certain lower level would force the fight.  It wouldn't stop anyone from doing what they enjoy in game beyond rolling undefended areas.

Numbers go up to a certain level and the map changes to a size more conducive to those numbers.

It might help the non prime time players find more action.

+1

Or just buff escort Shakey61.   That boy attracts a crowd!   Holy moly!

[The Fugitive]

With the preface that I haven't flown in a long time and this is purely a reaction to sone of the comments on the boards.

Would there be a way to have maps put in place specific to arena numbers? 

Seems like compressing the size of the map when numbers reach a certain lower level would force the fight.  It wouldn't stop anyone from doing what they enjoy in game beyond rolling undefended areas.

Numbers go up to a certain level and the map changes to a size more conducive to those numbers.

It might help the non prime time players find more action.

It's been discussed a number of times Dan. Either setting a no fly from certain base to compress the map area, or just retiring the large/medium maps and using only the small maps until the numbers come back up. No word from HTC on the ideas have popped up ...... yet 

[BaldEagl]

I don't think it would work.  It would just cause a mass logoff as the maps changed and an eventual deepening loss of players overall.

[The Fugitive]

I don't think it would work.  It would just cause a mass logoff as the maps changed and an eventual deepening loss of players overall.

Your right, you couldn't do it with swapping out maps as people just wouldn't log back in. However if you could set it up so the out laying bases closed and this closing continued toward the fronts as the numbers dropped you would have the same map, but the action area would shrink as the population dropped forcing a tighter.... and smaller... front. No loggin off or back in, just an automatic change like ENY but limiting bases in stead of limiting plane types.

[Bizman]

Your right, you couldn't do it with swapping out maps as people just wouldn't log back in. However if you could set it up so the out laying bases closed and this closing continued toward the fronts as the numbers dropped you would have the same map, but the action area would shrink as the population dropped forcing a tighter.... and smaller... front. No loggin off or back in, just an automatic change like ENY but limiting bases in stead of limiting plane types.

That sounds like a viable solution with a few caveats, though. I mean, there's maps where the centre is the natural point of action when the numbers are low and where your idea would work fine. And then there's the maps where the countries surround a vast sea like Tagma. Shrinked it would be like the coastlines of Uterus. That would certainly force to make use of the cv's!  +1, definitely worth thinking about.

[The Fugitive]

I did say the shrinking would continue towards the fronts, not the center 

[Bizman]

I hear you. Actually I had already typed about how it could easily be done when one country is defending their last corner of a mainland map. That's where the fight would in any case take place. I cut it off for easy reading... But how would you shrink a map with a large sea in the middle if the map had just reset and the powers were even?

[The Fugitive]

I hear you. Actually I had already typed about how it could easily be done when one country is defending their last corner of a mainland map. That's where the fight would in any case take place. I cut it off for easy reading... But how would you shrink a map with a large sea in the middle if the map had just reset and the powers were even?

Just off the top of my head it would be just wild numbers. If we are talking low population like some of the Euro times with only 30-40 players on it might contract to only having 3 bases on each front available. As the numbers climb the number of active bases increases. I would think that as one country captures a base it may have to open another base for the country that lost one keeping the "play area" stable. This way it wouldn't back one team into the corner and down to a single base.

The number of bases vs population would have to be tweaked until it gave a density for good sustained action. 

[ROC]

Every single map has the ability to have a concentrated fight already built into it.
The players simply have to launch near a fight.
If they aren't, what you are suggesting is to force them to do what they don't want to do.
I would think that, especially in an off peak time, if 30 or 40 players can't bring them selves to talk and organize good fights on their own, it's an abysmal waste of time for HTC to spend the time and energy trying to code their behavior out of them.

[Slash27]

Every single map has the ability to have a concentrated fight already built into it.
The players simply have to launch near a fight.
If they aren't, what you are suggesting is to force them to do what they don't want to do.
I would think that, especially in an off peak time, if 30 or 40 players can't bring them selves to talk and organize good fights on their own, it's an abysmal waste of time for HTC to spend the time and energy trying to code their behavior out of them.

Not much of an incentive for new people to stick around if there's nothing to do.

[Lusche]

Every single map has the ability to have a concentrated fight already built into it.
The players simply have to launch near a fight.
If they aren't, what you are suggesting is to force them to do what they don't want to do.
I would think that, especially in an off peak time, if 30 or 40 players can't bring them selves to talk and organize good fights on their own, it's an abysmal waste of time for HTC to spend the time and energy trying to code their behavior out of them.

Ignoring human nature in game design is not a particularly good idea

[BnZs]

Ignoring human nature in game design is not a particularly good idea

QFT.

What if I told you that players are not plotting to prevent fights from developing, it is just when 30 players on a side have the option of attacking 50 bases it becomes a "herding cats" coordination problem?

[Naughty]

 

   I'm sorry, Maybe i'm ignorant.. But I don't understand how smaller maps would change anything.

         Every country has 2 fronts. If you want a fight, you simply fly over to a neighboring enemy field, make yourself visible on their dar, and another pilot that wants a fight will almost always up to do so. you want to take bases ? same as any other map. get a few players together, attack a field and the enemy WILL up to defend. The ONLY problem I see with the large maps is.. there are so few players these days, that it's too hard to win, and the maps get boring after being up for a week. where as the smaller maps can be won in a day or 2.

[Lusche]

        Every country has 2 fronts. If you want a fight, you simply fly over to a neighboring enemy field, make yourself visible on their dar, and another pilot that wants a fight will almost always up to do so. you want to take bases ? same as any other map. get a few players together, attack a field and the enemy WILL up to defend.

Unfortunately the reality is often different. The more room on the front, the more spread out the players are. A single air con here,a singe tank making a town flash there. If one team finally "gets some people together", it's very often that the other team does not, and thus: No defense.
The smaller the actualy front line, the higehr the chance that you get suffient players together in one area to spark a battle. On some small maps I can even fly to a battle in progress between the two other teams, which is mostly impossible on large ones.